NASHVILLE ORGANIZER INSTITUTE: Scheduled for each Sunday in January: 5, 12, 19, from 3-6 pm. at the TIRRC Office, 2195 Nolensville Rd. Sponsored by a coalition including NPJC, TAP, Open Table and Urban EpiCenter. Translation and bilingual presentations, transportation, childcare and snacks provided. (Note: We're still looking for volunteers to provide transportation.) We would like people to be able to commit to at least 3 of the 4 sessions. We are looking for new folks not yet engaged in local movements, people we don't really know yet (less focused on the usual suspects), welcoming a variety of narratives -- people from all different levels of age and experience, up and coming leaders who need tools, and directly affected community members. Our goal: 45 new people (not including facilitators). Application form is available at this link; the application deadline is December 27th.

On January 26th, 2007, over two hundred Nashville residents joined in solidarity with the Vanderbilt workers, participating in a candle light vigil to commemorate the struggle for worker's justice at Vanderbilt and around the world.

Our Core Values: The Urban EpiCenter was founded in August of 2007 with the support of Keith Caldwell and Sekou Franklin, Ph.D. It is a multi-racial, grassroots organization in Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee. The term, EpiCenter, describes the focal point of a disturbance or activity. The Urban EpiCenter is grounded in the belief that community organizing and direct action for racial and economic justice should be the focal points of social and political activity in the underserved, underrepresented and/or under empowered communities in Nashville. Further, the Urban EpiCenter is deeply rooted in the belief of a radical vision of democracy, which situates indigenous activists, thepoor and working-class people at the center, or EpiCenter, of critical, vital and necessarygrassroots initiatives.

Our Principles:

We are dedicated to using community organizing toward radical and direct action for racial and economic justice

We are dedicated to cultivating a grassroots contingent of indigenous organizers, mainly drawn from Nashville’s socially and economically marginal communities and communities of color.

We are dedicated to serving as a resource for the underserved, underrepresented and/or under empowered that seek to develop their leadership capacity, as well as acquire the requisite skills that are essential to civic engagement and living a healthy life.

Our Objectives:It is critical for national organizations and allies to invest financially in social justice groups in the South. This is particularly urgent considering the South’s continuing conservative and paternalistic traditions, its At-Will Work laws and anti-labor culture, its entrenched poverty, its legacy of racism, and the prevalence of electoral disenfranchisement schemes that target black and poor voters.

Living wage campaign.

Recruitment and leadership development of indigenous activists.

Voter education to complement living wage campaign.

Voter mobilization/registration during each local and national election cycle.